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By Ray Rostan
Editor’s
Note: Hampden-Sydney College head lacrosse coach Ray Rostan was selected last
year to be assistant coach for the United States National Team. This past
summer, he helped lead the USA team to the 2002 International Lacrosse
Federation World Championship. Recognized as ODAC Coach of the Year for the
fourth time in 2001, Rostan led the 2002 Tiger squad through a record-breaking
undefeated regular season and captured his 200th career coaching victory.
Rostan’s selection as assistant coach for the US team was yet another proud
moment for Tiger athletics. The community’s excitement for the National
Team’s success is matched only by our anticipation of what promises to be
another tremendous year for Tiger lacrosse.
The opportunity to be an
assistant coach for the 2002 USA Team this summer was certainly a memorable
experience for me and for the whole Rostan family. The USA Team competes every
four years in the International Lacrosse Federation Championship. Approximately
500 players applied to try out; in June 2001, the 120 top players nationally
were selected to participate in a three-day try-out to compete for the 23-man
team.
The world championship was held this July in Perth, Australia. My son,
Jason Rostan ’03, and I traveled with the team to play exhibition games in San
Francisco and San Diego before heading “Down Under.” The San Francisco match
was played in the old Kezar
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Jason Rostan '03 (a star lacrosse player at Hampden-Sydney),
with former standouts Ed Curry '95 and Brooks DuBose '98, after the USA team exhibition
game in San Fransisco.
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Stadium,
formerly the home of the 49’ers, before an enthusiastic crowd of about 4,000.
The Olympic Club (the oldest athletic club in the country) hosted our team for a
banquet that evening. We were seated with Olympic Club member Ed Curry ’95. Ed
played in the exhibition game for the Northern California all-star team and
scored a goal and an assist against the likes of defenseman John Glatzel of
Syracuse. Ed, former ODAC Player of the Year, still has his explosive shot and
winning personality. We also met with Brooks DuBose ’98, who gave us a copy of
the newest album from his band, Ten Mile Tide.
While in San Diego, Jason played an exhibition game with the USA Team
against the Southern California All-Stars. Several players were banged up from
the first game and the team captain asked head coach Emmer to put in Jason, who
then ran on the third midfield—an experience he won’t soon forget!
My wife Karen and daughter Jamie joined us in Los Angeles just before we
left for Australia. The team and staff arrived in Perth on July 1, where we were
housed at St. George College. Karen and Jamie toured Sydney for the first four
days and then, along with 300 other family members and fans, came on to Perth.
The team practiced for five days and played an exhibition game before the
opening game. My major responsibility was coordinating the team defense while
Coach Pressler of Duke managed the team offense. Head Coach Jack Emmer (US
Military Academy at West Point), who was my college coach at the New York State
University at Cortland in 1972, displayed tremendous leadership. After highly
successful stints at Cortland, Washington & Lee, and Army, Emmer is now the
all-time winningest NCAA lacrosse coach.
Fifteen countries were represented at the World Championships. The
favorites were the US, Canada, Australia, England, and the Iroquois Nation,
which included natives from Canada and the US. Other teams that played with
surprising skill were Japan, Ireland, and Germany.
The tournament was broken into three divisions. Coming out of the “B”
division, Japan made a strong run, upsetting the English 13-12 and narrowly
losing to the strong Iroquois Nation by one goal in overtime. As a result, Japan
will likely move to the “A” division in 2006. Ireland, in their first World
Games event, made a strong showing by going undefeated in the “C” division.
Hampden-Sydney College student and lacrosse player Dan McCartan ’06 was a
member of the Irish team.
"This was one of the finest USA teams ever fielded. Their speed, selflessness, and teamwork throughout the tourney were clearly notable."
Ray Rostan
Assistant Coach, USA Team
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The game schedule was brutal, considering that each team was allowed a
roster of only 23. Within a tournament period of nine days our team played six
games. Our opponents were extremely physical, particularly the Canadians,
Australians, and Iroquois, who played close defense with full-length,
hand-carved hardwood sticks. (It was like getting checked with an ax
handle!) We played the Iroquois on Saturday night, the Australians on Sunday,
the Canadians on Tuesday, and the English on Wednesday. Then, after just one
day’s rest, we played a semi-final with the Iroquois on Friday and the
championship with the Canadians on Sunday. Our first game with the Canadians,
who clearly set out to intimidate our young team, was absolutely brutal. Winning
the game didn’t seem to be their first priority. I believe they were looking
to set us up for the final. Despite the fact that many fouls were not even
called, the Canadians racked up an astounding 29 penalties, with four men
“fouling out” and two more with four personal fouls each. (I’d never been
involved in a game where even one player fouled out!) We capitalized in the
third quarter by scoring eight man-up goals. Responding with great tenacity and
heart, our team went on to win 20-6.
The championship game was a very different affair. The Canadians, as we
expected, were quite tough when they stopped playing roller ball and started
playing lacrosse. We were down 9-7 at half time and were struggling to stop 6´5˝
250-lb. John Grant, who opened the half with three goals, and 6´4˝ 250-lb.
Paul Gait, who kept running over the double team. At halftime we moved in Ryan
McClay (Cornell University) to shut off Grant and continued with Todd Rassas
(Notre Dame) on Gait.
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The USA Lacrosse Team celebrates its victory in Perth,
Australia. At left are head coach Jack Emmer of West Point and assistant coach
Ray Rostan of Hampden-Sydney College.
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This allowed Ryan Mollot (Princeton) and John Glatzel (Syracuse), possibly our
top defensive talents, to complement the defense “off ball.” The USA led
16-13 with 2:50 on the clock when the Canadians called for a stick-check on Mike
Powell. The stick came up a millimeter short. With a 3-minute unreleasable
penalty with no face-off, we struggled to stop the potent Canadian man-up team.
Gait and Tavares scored two quick goals in 26 seconds. We then called a stick
check on Tavares and won the appeal, taking a Canadian goal off the scoreboard
and evening the field for the remainder of the game. The final score was 18-15
USA.
Doug Shanahan scored 4-goals to win the tournament MVP. Shanahan, a
former National Player of the Year from Hofstra, is presently trying-out as a
free agent for the NY Jets. Other team members making the All-World team were
long pole Ryan McClay, defenseman Ryan Mollot, midfielder Doug Shanahan,
attackman Darren Lowe (Brown University), and goalie Trevor Tierney (Princeton).
The 2002 team played 13 games or exhibitions, going 13-0. Despite the
naysayers’ worries about the youth and inexperience of this team due to the
new pro league (MLL), I truly believe that this was one of the finest USA teams
ever fielded. The speed, selflessness, and teamwork throughout the tourney were
clearly notable.
Now that I’m back in the states, I look forward to an exciting Hampden-Sydney
lacrosse season. We return an exceptional senior class in Chris Biddison, Will
Dammeyer, Phil Dick, Tom DiVincernzo, Chris Lucas, John MacDonell, Wilson
Macllwaine, Jason Rostan, Rob Tueber, and Will Swink. Hope to see you on the
Hill!
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